Sweet Sacrifice
by Ichijiku-san
Summary: How do I really describe this book? I mean this is just the first chapter, I can't really give you a description about it quite yet. You'll just have to read for yourself.


1

He watched her as he hid behind the cover of thick foliage. Her waist-length, white-blond hair stirred in the gentle breeze like a gossamer curtain. White lashes kissed the pale skin of her high cheek bones each time her lids blinked close over her vivid blue eyes.

The Mexica people believed albinos were full of light. And when he'd first caught glimpse of her, she was like a sudden emergence of the sun from behind clouds—a sunburst. Igniting her even brighter was a perfect amalgamation of colors. A sunny yellow tank top, which she wore along with khaki shorts, and the orange-red tubular flowers of the Smooth Bouvardia plant, one of Madera Canyon's more common shrubs, that silhouetted her.

What a desirable sacrifice for Huitzilopochtli she'd be. Her heart and blood would strengthen the sun god.

Three other friends were with her. Next to her right side stood a tall and lean, young, flaxen-haired man. He pressed his right index finger to his lips. "Shh."

The sound of a large bumblebee buzzed around the flowering plant.

The beautiful albino woman scanned the orange-red blooms for the source of the sound. It was a hummingbird. She smiled as she observed the tiny, vibrant purple-throated bird hover in and out of the flowers, getting its fill of nectar.

To her left, a curvaceous, petite, brunette girl, pointed a finger at the shimmering green bird and squealed, "I see it!"

In a flash the hummingbird was gone.

"Mel, you scared the Lucifer hummingbird away!" The tall, young man complained.

Mel shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry."

The fourth in their group, an average-sized young man with shaggy brown hair and tattoos riddling his arms, came to her defense. "She didn't mean to scare it away, Will."

"Yeah, I know, David. Let's get moving, we're almost to Bog Spring."

They continued their trek uphill, through silverleaf oaks, alligator junipers and ponderosa pines.

Staying out of sight, _he_ followed her.

The higher elevation of the canyon granted some relief from Arizona's scorching summer heat, but the early summer's warmth was still hot. E.J. lifted her long white-blond hair off the back of her neck, wishing she had put it up in a ponytail. "How long did you say this trail was?"

"It's a five-mile loop trek to Bog Spring, Kent Spring and Sylvester Spring," Will answered, because he was the one who had planned the hike. Madera Canyon was well known for bird watching and, not only was Will a bird enthusiast; he was studying ornithology at the University of Arizona.

Soon they reached Bog Spring. The slow flow of water in the small man-made cement rectangle gave E.J. an idea. She cupped her hands together, scooped up a bunch of water and flung it at Mel.

"Hey!" Mel shrieked, and then splashed her back.

_Aahh,_ the water felt good.

Shaggy-haired David yelled, "WATER FIGHT," and began shoveling water at Mel.

Mel stood there pouting, water dripping off the ends of her stylish uneven-cut, short hair. "That's not fair!" Her now wet peach-colored T-shirt clung tight to her perky breasts. Her ample bosom was not going unnoticed by the ogling eyes of David. She didn't seem to mind the drooling gaze though.

Trying to avoid gawking at Mel's chest, Will headed back toward the main trail. The rest of them followed.

So did _he_.

The trail became quite a bit steeper. E.J. was concentrating on not tripping over any rocks when she heard rustling in the foliage off to her left. Her head snapped up.

_He _slipped back deeper into the cover of the trees, silently cursing himself for being careless. It was unusual for him to make a sound when he didn't want to be heard or seen. But she held some sort of power over him, making him lose awareness of himself and his surroundings.

E.J. didn't see anything suspicious, so she kept on walking.

_He_ couldn't resist following her some more.

They came upon a valley with a breath-taking view of the Santa Rita Mountains. The oak woodlands were an inviting green compared to the brown desert grass they were used to seeing.

A huge dark-brown bird, with a wing span of seven feet or more, soared down in the vale.

"Look at the talons on that raptor!" David exclaimed.

"That bird of prey is eight times more powerful than a human. There's even been reports of Golden Eagles killing wolves," Will mentioned.

David was amazed. "Whoa, that's awesome, Bro."

Will continued with his lecture. "It kills its prey with its talons, and then uses its beak to rip and tear into the flesh to eat it."

E.J. gulped.

Mel scrunched up her face. "Eew!"

E.J. couldn't help but imagine the eagle diving through the air toward her with its talons outstretched, ready to pierce her skin. To get away from the sight of the bird, she quickly started up the path again. The others tagged along.

The trail leveled out some. E.J.'s legs immediately felt the relief of the easier course. A few scattered springs came into sight as they came upon Kent Spring.

E.J. looked around the riparian area, spotting a large gnarled sycamore that provided shade from the sun. She sat down under the tree and reached into her pack that she'd been carrying to dig out a bottle of water.

The guys wandered off a bit to look for birds. Mel joined E.J. under the shade. "Are you and Will going to hook up?"

"I don't know." E.J. watched Will search with his binoculars for birds in the canopy of trees while she drank her water.

"I'm really surprised you two haven't yet," Mel said.

Will had tutored E.J. during their last year of high school. She wouldn't have passed her math class, and wouldn't have graduated, without his help. They had gotten to know each other quite well with all the time they had spent together. They even had kissed a few times. She knew he wanted to be more than just friends with her. But she didn't feel he was the one for her.

Will and David moved up the trail, almost out of sight.

"You two coming?" David yelled back at them.

E.J. and Mel jogged to catch up to them.

"Man, I was hoping to get a glimpse of a rare Trogon," Will announced.

"Hey, I heard there's been a jaguar sighting around here. I want to see that beast," David proclaimed.

E.J.'s chest tightened. _A jaguar!_

"Yeah! I want to see that big cat, too!" Mel squealed. She just wanted to see whatever David wanted to see.

"What would you like to see, E.J.?" Will inquired.

"Not a jaguar." _Or a mountain lion, bear, or wolf._ "Is the Trogon a bird of prey? Or raptor or whatever you call those birds that kill their prey with their talons and use their beak to rip and tear into flesh?" She knew the Golden Eagle wasn't the only carnivorous bird, and she didn't want to see anymore birds that ate meat, or any animal able to rip and tear flesh.

Will heard the consternation in her voice. He gave her a sympathetic smile. "No."

She smiled back at him. "The Trogon sounds nice."

The trail wasn't going uphill anymore, it was descending. They had to be careful with their footing because it was very steep and there were cobblestone sized rocks in many places.

Once more E.J.'s eyes were down on the path when she heard rustling in the bushes again. With carnivorous animals on her mind, she froze in her tracks, focusing her poor eyesight on the area she'd heard the sound come from.

She thought she saw eyes. Impulsively she inhaled to scream.

"SHH! SHH!" Will gazed around the same area where E.J. thought she'd seen eyes.

E.J.'s heart beat erratically in her chest. Something was stalking them! Her mind raced, wondering which carnivorous creature was about to attack them. A wolf? A mountain lion? Or..._gulp_...the jaguar?

Behind the tall shrubs, _he_ cursed himself again, while thinking quickly before they discovered him. He knew there was a group of doe grazing nearby. He crept closer to the white-tailed deer. Sensing his presence, their heads popped up. He took calculated steps toward them, corralling them toward the trail. Their thundering hooves vibrated the ground as they dashed out of the shrubbery and across the path.

While the deer provided a distraction, he forced himself to depart the area. He couldn't allow himself to continue stalking her anymore. What had he been thinking, following her like he was some kind of a sick criminal? He was a ranger for gods' sake! There were plenty of other areas he could patrol without being anywhere near her. He needed to forget about her. Forget how beautiful she was. Forget _what_ she was.

After the deer vanished from sight, Will let out his breath. "Wow! They were close."

Mel clapped her hands with excitement. "That was so neat."

David leered at the spot where the deer had disappeared, pretending to fire a shotgun. "POW! POW! I need to get me a huntin' license."

E.J. stood in silence, waiting for her heart to catch up. Her bladder was about to burst. She should've rationed her water instead of gulping it all down. She'd never make it to the campground restrooms. Now she was going to have to squat in the woods. She really didn't want to do that, because she had no idea what poison ivy, or poison oak, or any other poisonous plant for that matter looked like. What if she squatted too close to one? Blood rushed to her face thinking of the humiliation she'd suffer confessing to a doctor she had a rash on her butt. It didn't matter. She didn't have a choice. She needed to go pee. _NOW_.

"Guys? I really have to go to the bathroom."

"Yeah, I do too," Will admitted. "Boys on the left, girls on the right, and don't go too far in, you don't want to get lost."

Mel smiled up into David's eyes. "I'm going to stay here on the trail. I don't need to go."

David smiled down into Mel's eyes. "I don't need to go, either. I'll stay with Mel."

Will headed off to the left. E.J. sat her pack down on the trail, and then headed off to the right.

The bushes were thick and tall and scratched at E.J.'s legs. She made sure she went far enough in so that no one on the trail could see her go pee. She searched for a relatively clear spot, hoping it was poisonous plant free, and did her duty. When she finished, she checked to make sure she hadn't gotten any urine on herself. She was thankful she hadn't.

On her way back to the trail, she caught view of brown fur. Beady eyes, little ears, and a long nose stared up at her. She didn't dare to move. Standing as still as she could, she waited and waited for the coatimundi to move. And then it did, right toward her! Slowly she backed away. But the brown fur continued to move through the forest grass in her direction.

_It's going to bite me_, she feared.

She continued backing away from the coati, and it quit moving toward her, seeming to have lost interest in her. Finally it turned away and leisurely wandered out of sight.

Relieved, she headed back to the trail. The others must have been wondering what was taking her so long. As she walked, she watched for the trail, expecting to see it in another few steps.

_Where was the trail? _

Step after step the trail never came into view.

There was no way she was lost.

But she _was_—lost, lost in a wilderness thousands of acres wide.


End file.
